At Ridder, we are looking for a Senior Lead Developer for our Climate & Water team, where you work on business‑critical SCADA/HMI software that is used 24/7 by customers in the international horticulture sector.

In this role, you combine deep technical expertise with leadership. You keep our existing platform stable and reliable, while carefully steering the team towards a more modern architecture. You understand that legacy modernisation is not a “big bang”, but thoughtful, controlled improvement that keeps the system running at all times.

Main focus points:

• Take technical ownership of the SCADA/HMI platform, balancing stability with step‑by‑step modernisation
• Work closely with experienced colleagues to understand, maintain and improve a large C++/Windows legacy codebase
• Identify technical risks and make technical debt visible, manageable and prioritised
• Lead refactoring efforts and help design new components alongside the existing system
• Clearly explain technical decisions to engineers, product owners and service colleagues

Who you are

You are a fast learner who enjoys understanding what software really does, even when the codebase is old or complex. In the first months, you will work closely with an experienced colleague, quickly absorbing their knowledge so you can confidently take ownership after the handover. You take responsibility for software that is critical to customers, stay calm under pressure, and communicate clearly with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

Your profile:

• Strong experience with C++ development and Windows technologies, including older standards, legacy patterns, Win32 API, MFC, threading and IPC
• Proven ability to debug complex issues such as memory leaks, pointer problems and resource leaks in long‑running systems
• Experience maintaining and improving older software with limited documentation, where stability, backward compatibility and minimal downtime are critical
• Familiarity with SCADA, HMI or industrial software concepts
• A pragmatic mindset, strong problem‑solving skills and clear communication

Experience with PostgreSQL, event‑driven architectures, CI/CD, Clean Architecture or Strangler Fig patterns, and industrial protocols such as Modbus is considered a strong plus.

What Ridder offers

At Ridder, you work in an innovative sector with technology that contributes to sustainable food production. You will join a team where your expertise, initiative and ideas matter.

We offer:

• Hybrid working options
• Plenty of room for personal initiative
• A favourable pension contribution
• Bonus scheme
• 29 leave days for full-time employment, including 4 ADV days

About Ridder

Ridder develops smart technology for the international horticulture sector. Together with our customers, we help growers produce more sustainably. As a family business with 350+ employees, we’ve supported growers worldwide for over 70 years.

Would you like to help build the future of our climate and water software while keeping business-critical systems reliable today? Then we would love to hear from you.

Not a 100% match? Apply anyway—we value your experience, motivation and potential.